Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

The Evidence for Evolution

The Evidence for Evolution

Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic Trees

Phylogenetic trees come in many forms. It matters in which sequence the organisms are arranged from the bottom to the top of the tree, but the branches can rotate at their nodes without altering the information. The lines connecting individual nodes can be straight, angled, or even curved.

Phylogeny

Phylogeny

Phylogeny is concerned with the evolutionary diversification of organisms or groups of organisms. A group of organisms with a name is called a taxon (singular). Taxa (plural) can span different levels of the evolutionary hierarchy. For instance, the group containing all birds is a taxon (comprising the class Aves), and the group of all species of daisies (the genus Bellis) is a taxon. Phylogenies can likewise include just one genus (i.e., depict species relationships) or span an entire kingdom.

The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes

The Tree of Life - Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryotes

The “tree of life” describes the evolution of life and the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The root of the tree is the common ancestor to all life on Earth. All other species radiate from this point, much like the branches of a tree. The numerous tips of these branches on the tree of life represent every living, or extant, species. Extinct species, which are species that no longer exist, can be found towards the center of the tree. Currently, these organisms, both...

What is Evolutionary History?

What is Evolutionary History?

Scientists record evolutionary history by analyzing fossil, morphological, and genetic data. The fossil record documents the history of life on Earth and provides evidence for evolution. However, both fossil and living organisms offer evidence that outlines Earth’s evolutionary history.

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

High-fidelity modular skeletons authenticate a Cambrian origin for Bryozoa.

Nature·2026

Same author

Unraveling the Role of Spicules in Shaping Sponge Body Structure: Evidence from the Early Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation.

Biology·2025

Same author

Body-size evolution in gastropods across the Plio-Pleistocene extinction in the western Atlantic.

PloS one·2024

Same author

The end of the line: competitive exclusion and the extinction of historical entities.

Royal Society open science·2023

Same author

Reply to Couée: We agree that we need more linguistic diversity in science.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2022

Same author

Inequality in science and the case for a new agenda.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2022

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Tangled banks, braided rivers, and complex hierarchies: beyond microevolution and macroevolution.

Maureen Kearney¹, Bruce S Lieberman^2,3, Luke C Strotz^3,4,5

¹Division of Environmental Biology, National Science Foundation, Alexandria, VA, United States.

Journal of Evolutionary Biology

|May 31, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Microevolution and macroevolution are not distinct domains but interconnected processes across biological scales. Rethinking these concepts fosters greater synthesis and collaboration in evolutionary biology research.

Keywords:

hierarchy macroevolution microevolution palaeontology phylodynamics phylogenetic system

More Related Videos

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Published on: May 7, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 25, 2025

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Dissection and Flat-mounting of the Threespine Stickleback Branchial Skeleton

Published on: May 7, 2016

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Theoretical Biology

Background:

The relationship between microevolution and macroevolution has been debated since the Modern Synthesis.
Traditional views often treat microevolution and macroevolution as binary and reductive.

Purpose of the Study:

To re-examine microevolution and macroevolution in light of recent biological advances.
To propose a more integrated framework for understanding evolutionary processes.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of microevolution and macroevolutionary theory.
Integration of empirical data and theoretical advances in evolutionary biology.
Consideration of phylodynamics and multilevel phylogenetic systems.

Main Results:

Current empirical and theoretical advances challenge binary views of microevolution and macroevolution.
Evolutionary patterns and processes are interconnected across scales and hierarchical levels.
Biological entities possess fuzzy boundaries, complicating distinct micro- and macroevolutionary domains.

Conclusions:

Traditional distinctions between microevolution and macroevolution are too simplistic.
A multidimensional, multilevel phylogenetic system offers a more comprehensive framework.
Integrating concepts like phylodynamics is crucial for advancing macroevolutionary studies.